Rwanda’s Capital Markets Advisory Council (www.cmac.org.rw) expects 4 more Kenyan cross-listings this year on the Rwanda Over The Counter market, which is run by CMAC, bringing the total to 5, according to a report in The New Times newspaper (www.newtimes.co.rw).
Robert Mathu, the Executive Director of CMAC, is reported as saying that the Nation Media Group (www.nationmedia.com) has made a formal approach and mentioned it in their annual report, and the CMAC also expects interest from Equity Bank, Kenokobil and TPS Serena. The companies are already doing business in Rwanda and elsewhere in Eastern Africa.
He is reported as saying: “This means a lot for the Rwandan market as it gets more products and increases the capital markets standards of trading as well as the infrastructure to make it easy for investors to invest.”
The companies also plan to cross list on other regional markets as the East African markets move to much closer integration. Mr Mathu said that cross listing is not about raising new capital and the companies will offer 100% of their shares to Rwandan investors at the trading prices on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (www.nse.co.ke).
The first cross-listing is Kenya Commercial Bank. The big step for this year would be teh first local Initial Public Offering for brewery BRALIRWA, covered on this blog in February.